Comments on: 3 Ways to Monitor Your Spending http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/ Investing and Personal Finance Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:38:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Weekly Roundup: Expensive Chocolate and Ethiopian Food Edition at Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8483 Weekly Roundup: Expensive Chocolate and Ethiopian Food Edition at Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:55:29 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8483 [...] - Quest for Four Pillars has 3 ways to monitor your spending. [...] [...] – Quest for Four Pillars has 3 ways to monitor your spending. [...]

]]> By: Gates VP http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8413 Gates VP Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:31:47 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8413 <b>@Cheap and @Lots</b>: can you even use mint in Canada? I tried to sign-up for their beta some time ago and it wasn't going to work b/c everything was in Canada. I tried Wesabe for a while but I was generally unimpressed as well. For quite some time they had no way to effectively track cash transactions. I paid for my driver's license and groceries with cash and actually had literally no way to track it, that's a pretty big miss. Honestly, I'd love to work for the Canadian version of Mint :) @Cheap and @Lots: can you even use mint in Canada?

I tried to sign-up for their beta some time ago and it wasn’t going to work b/c everything was in Canada. I tried Wesabe for a while but I was generally unimpressed as well. For quite some time they had no way to effectively track cash transactions.

I paid for my driver’s license and groceries with cash and actually had literally no way to track it, that’s a pretty big miss.

Honestly, I’d love to work for the Canadian version of Mint :)

]]> By: Mr. Cheap http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8384 Mr. Cheap Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:20:10 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8384 Lots: That's been my concern: I like the looks of Mint, but I don't really want them logging into all my financial accounts. Lots: That’s been my concern: I like the looks of Mint, but I don’t really want them logging into all my financial accounts.

]]> By: Lots http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8382 Lots Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:35:57 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8382 Although it doesn't track your cash spending, www.mint.com does allow you to track most of your credit card and bank account spending all within one website. The only question would be whether you would want one website to be able to track all of your financial accounts... Although it doesn’t track your cash spending, http://www.mint.com does allow you to track most of your credit card and bank account spending all within one website. The only question would be whether you would want one website to be able to track all of your financial accounts…

]]> By: Mr. Cheap http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8360 Mr. Cheap Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:10:37 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8360 Gates: thanks :-). The envelope methods would work too (and if you had money left over, you could just subtract that from the original budget to see how much you actually spent). Good plan! Gates: thanks :-) . The envelope methods would work too (and if you had money left over, you could just subtract that from the original budget to see how much you actually spent). Good plan!

]]> By: Gates VP http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8359 Gates VP Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:50:02 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8359 Hey Cheap, I like this post :) I also support the "alternate #1", which is the "envelope method". Pre-budget everything and spend cash (or equivalent). It's a different approach that may be able to get around Shevy's problem. Of course, it still needs the long-term feedback cycles from steps 2 & 3. Hey Cheap, I like this post :)

I also support the “alternate #1″, which is the “envelope method”. Pre-budget everything and spend cash (or equivalent). It’s a different approach that may be able to get around Shevy’s problem.

Of course, it still needs the long-term feedback cycles from steps 2 & 3.

]]> By: Mr. Cheap http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8343 Mr. Cheap Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:01:40 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8343 Shevy: think its like dieting: if you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up about it, just start again. Once you've monitored it for a while, you can stop recording everything if you keep spending fairly consistently, and assume you're still spending roughly the same amount as when you were logging. As you and Mike say, it can be hard when more than one person is involved... Shevy: think its like dieting: if you fall off the wagon, don’t beat yourself up about it, just start again.

Once you’ve monitored it for a while, you can stop recording everything if you keep spending fairly consistently, and assume you’re still spending roughly the same amount as when you were logging.

As you and Mike say, it can be hard when more than one person is involved…

]]> By: Shevy http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8341 Shevy Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:11:12 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8341 I'm trying to do a version of #1. I ask for receipts for everything and the ideal is to break it down. For example, if I spent $35.83 at Safeway was it all for groceries? Did I buy a magazine or toilet paper or a chocolate bar or bus tickets? Each of those really belongs in a different category in my Excel spreadsheet (books, household, junk food, bus). But I don't always manage that and I end up just entering straight from my passbook, as almost everything goes through there. It also means getting my hubby's passbook and doing the same. He *doesn't* get or save receipts and I often have problems determining whether a purchase at a gas station, for example, is for gas, candy or cigs. He also takes some cash withdrawals ($20 here and there) and I have no way to determine what cash was spent on. Probably mostly the aforementioned candy and cigs, with a little parking thrown in. But I just assign it all to the black hole of Miscellaneous. If I keep up with it, it's fairly accurate. But if I stop doing it for a while, it just feels overwhelming! I didn't enter for a couple of months and am now catching up on September. Very aggravating, but we really need to get back on top of our spending because we're facing some serious car repair costs this week. I’m trying to do a version of #1. I ask for receipts for everything and the ideal is to break it down. For example, if I spent $35.83 at Safeway was it all for groceries? Did I buy a magazine or toilet paper or a chocolate bar or bus tickets? Each of those really belongs in a different category in my Excel spreadsheet (books, household, junk food, bus). But I don’t always manage that and I end up just entering straight from my passbook, as almost everything goes through there. It also means getting my hubby’s passbook and doing the same. He *doesn’t* get or save receipts and I often have problems determining whether a purchase at a gas station, for example, is for gas, candy or cigs. He also takes some cash withdrawals ($20 here and there) and I have no way to determine what cash was spent on. Probably mostly the aforementioned candy and cigs, with a little parking thrown in. But I just assign it all to the black hole of Miscellaneous.

If I keep up with it, it’s fairly accurate. But if I stop doing it for a while, it just feels overwhelming! I didn’t enter for a couple of months and am now catching up on September. Very aggravating, but we really need to get back on top of our spending because we’re facing some serious car repair costs this week.

]]> By: WoolyWoman http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8339 WoolyWoman Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:54:09 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8339 It is a great idea to monitor your spending I agree, especially when trying to make changes. I did this once :) using Quickbooks and could compare my budget to actual spending and make adjustments. It was a lot of work, but I think useful, perhaps on a bi-annual or quarterly basis, at least for us. It is a great idea to monitor your spending I agree, especially when trying to make changes. I did this once :) using Quickbooks and could compare my budget to actual spending and make adjustments. It was a lot of work, but I think useful, perhaps on a bi-annual or quarterly basis, at least for us.

]]> By: Mr. Cheap http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/3-ways-to-monitor-your-spending/comment-page-1/#comment-8334 Mr. Cheap Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:56:08 +0000 http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/?p=1324#comment-8334 Mike: Yeah, probably you couldn't really impose the first one on other family members (the 2nd and 3rd should work reasonably well though, and if you combined them with following the 1st approach for yourself, you could get a pretty good estimate of what the other people were spending in your family) Mike: Yeah, probably you couldn’t really impose the first one on other family members (the 2nd and 3rd should work reasonably well though, and if you combined them with following the 1st approach for yourself, you could get a pretty good estimate of what the other people were spending in your family)

]]>